Ram Badan Singh has been selling newspapers on the corner of 86th and Central Park West for 36 years. He is a New York institution. He is an UWS institution. And now, as Mr. Singh is about to turn 81, the subway station where he has brightened commuters' mornings - in ways big and small- is shutting down for six months. A dramatic reduction in foot traffic inevitably threatens his ability to survive doing what he has done for decades ...through hurricanes, blizzards and everything else. A little goes a long way here. Think of this page as a way to buy the news forward.

Background and affiliation: I started buying my newspapers from Mr. Singh 20 years ago when I lived around the corner from his 86th St location. When I moved downtown several years later, I often reminisced that one of the things I missed most about the UWS was my daily morning newspaper transaction. After 15 years downtown, I had the good fortune to move back to Mr. Singh's neighborhood and was utterly delighted to see him on the same corner.

Once we reach our goal on this campaign, all donations will be given directly to Mr. Singh to help him through the impending subway closure and thank him for his ongoing dedication to the neighborhood. Singh and I will go to the bank together (we have accounts with the same bank) and I will withdraw the funds myself and then directly transfer them to Singh's account.